Change My World
by FantasyForever310
Summary: Set in the world of Tangled, after the plot line of Rise of the Guardians, Change My World is a fluffy one-shot where Rapunzel meets Jack and is quickly captivated by him. Her sassy, independent personality gels with his kind and thoughtful nature.


**This is a simple one-shot for my best friend's birthday! I'm still working on my other stories; I just figured that since I wrote this, I might as well post it! Enjoy! **

Change My World

The darkness closed around her. There was no hope, Mother Gothel was at a convention for enchantresses, and wouldn't be home for a week. But Rapunzel needed help _now_.

Because she was seventeen, Rapunzel was convinced she could take care of herself. How wrong she'd been. Barely a day after her beloved caretaker had left, a tall, gaunt man in a black cloak literally floated through the window.

"'Who are you?" she'd asked.

With a dark chuckle he'd said, "I'm Pitch. Surely you've heard of me. Everyone knows the Boogeyman,"

"The what?" she'd asked, grabbing her frying pan.

The air instantly chilled. The dark night grew darker. "The Boogey Man. All tremble in fear of me! I-" she swung the frying pan at him, the smashing blow to the head cutting off his words.

The shocked look on his face as he passed out would have been amusing, if she hadn't been so disturbed by this man entering her bedroom, at the top of the very tall tower, at night.

Apparently someone else found it amusing though, because a rich, bell-like laughter filled the air. A beautiful, smooth, deep voice explained, "I came here to take care of Pitch, but it looks like you got to him first!" Rapunzel turned to face the source of the voice.

Snow-white hair fell gently around a handsome face. Clear and kind silver eyes stared at her, the corners crinkled in laughter. A grin graced the boy's face as he leaned against a staff he held.

Fed up with all these intruders, Rapunzel took a step forward and heaved the frying pan at his face.

The boy raised an eyebrow at her as he twirled his staff around. A blue light shot out, coating her arm and the frying pan in ice. The additional weight and restricted movement caused Rapunzel to topple.

Nimbly avoiding the ice-coated frying pan, the boy jumped to her other side and caught her from behind. Muscular arms circled her waist and halted her fall.

The boy carefully tugged her upright. Once she had her balance, she kicked at him with all her might. With a twirl of the staff, her foot was deflected.

Her foot hit the floor at an angle and she fell on top of it, a snap and a flash of pain accompanying the broken ankle.

The boy winced, "I'm sorry you got hurt, but don't you think it was a bit much to attack someone who was going to save you?"

"I didn't need your help! I can defend myself!" She gritted out.

He sighed. "I'm a Guardian. My name is Jack Frost. It's my duty to help those in need, and protect the children of this world,"

"Great job you're doing," she said sarcastically. She really wanted him to leave so she could heal her ankle with her hair.

"I really didn't mean to hurt you. If someone came at you with a frying pan, wouldn't you want to defend yourself?" Jack reasoned. She glared silently, giving a pointed glance towards her ice-coated limb. He shrugged and waved a hand towards it. The ice disappeared as if it had never existed.

"See? I'm not your enemy. Pitch is. He can sense everyone's fears, and uses that against them-" Jack said.

"Whatever. Just get out of here!" Rapunzel said, shaking with pain. Jack frowned. He crouched and she bent her head so her hair fell in front of her face, hiding the instinctual tears of pain she could no longer repress.

A hand brushed the hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "You're crying!" he exclaimed. His silver eyes widened and he clenched his jaw. "I've never hurt someone like this before," he sounded apologetic, but Rapunzel was beyond caring.

"Just go. Please," she begged.

"But you're hurt! I can't do that," he protested.

"Yes you can. Leave the same way you came. Through the window."

"No, I meant I _wouldn'_t leave someone who's injured without helping them first," he seemed adamant, and despite her aggravation, she couldn't help the butterflies that started a gentle flutter in her stomach when he said that.

His voice deepened and tone softened as he reached for her ankle, "Let me take a look,"

"No. It'll be fine, really. Just leave." She tried to scoot back away from him, but only ended up putting more pressure on her ankle. She moaned and bit her lip as more tears spilled from her eyes.

Jack commented wryly, "Independence is great, but don't you ever want to depend on someone? It's not like you have to go through life alone, you know. I can help you with that ankle: wrap it in cloth or a splint or something,"

"I'll deal with it. Really," she said again.

"No. I'll stay and help," he declared.

Rapunzel almost wanted to smack herself with the frying pan at this point. Jack Frost could _not_ take a hint. Trying a different tactic, she said, "What about Pitch? Don't you need deal with him?"

"He already disappeared into the shadows. He'll be half way across the world by now," Jack said, moving beside her so she could see the empty floor where Pitch had fallen.

"Don't you need to go after him then? He's got quite the head start,"

"Nah, he's not that big of a priority right now. He just occasionally lashes out after people stopped believing in him. What's your name?"

Rapunzel was out of strategies, and replied simply "Rapunzel," hoping to get this whole ordeal over with quickly.

"Pretty name. Here, that floor has to be awfully uncomfortable," and before she could say a word, one of his arms had slid under her knees and the other around her back. He picked her up easily.

Jack cradled Rapunzel against him as he carried her across the room to her bed. The surprising warmth of their proximity was doing funny things to her heartbeat. All thoughts fled her mind as his silver eyes met her emerald ones.

The five-second walk felt like an eternity. Tingles spread through her body and she found herself short of breath.

He laid her down on her bed and slid his arms from around her. His eyes never left hers as gentle smiles graced their faces. He pulled away and sat down at the foot of the bed.

"Stretch out your legs," he said. She complied and manuvered into a sitting position. Jack moved a coil of hair out of the way and gently moved his hand over her ankle.

After a few moments of examination, he declared, "It's definitely broken. Is there anything nearby I can splint it with?"

Rapunzel stayed silent. She didn't need a splint. All she needed was her hair. Mother Gothel had told her to never show anyone, because people would hurt her to get her hair. But Jack said he was a Guardian, someone who was supposed to protect others. Besides, some unidentifiable piece of her wanted to trust him. It didn't matter that she had no proof of his worth, beyond the fact that he was still trying to help.

Rapunzel made a snap decision. "I don't need a splint," she said quietly, building up the courage to show what only Mother Gothel had seen before. What if he thought her a monster because of it?

Oblivious, Jack countered, "But if you don't use a splint, the bone might heal crooked! You'd limp all your life. You might not even be able to walk again-"

"That's not what I meant. Watch." she met him eye for eye and kept her gaze on his face as she pulled a coil of her hair over and wrapped it around her ankle. She didn't respond to the unspoken question in his eyes.

Instead, she sang, "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine," her hair began to glow and Jack gasped. But he didn't move away.

She kept singing, "Heal what has been hurt, change the fates' design, save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine,"

Relief filled Rapunzel as the pain dissolved. Her ankle shifted back into place, the broken bone healing. Jack's eyes were wide not, as she had feared, with horror or disgust, but with wonder and joy. Happiness soared through her as she sang the last line, "What once was mine,"

As her hair began to fade, Jack reached out a hand to feel it. "Wow," he breathed, "Have you always been able to do this?"

Rapunzel nodded. "My hair is magical. It contains healing properties," she explained.

"I bet you're always really busy with people coming to have you heal them!" Jack laughed.

Rapunzel frowned at that. Mother Gothel had said people would hurt and hate her for her ability, but what Jack said made sense.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, after the silence had gone on for too long.

"I've never been outside the tower before. No one but Mother knows I exist,"

"Never?" Jack asked, incredulous.

"Never. When I think about my gift that way, it makes me feel kind of guilty that I've never helped people that way," she explained.

"Well, it's never too late to start. My friends and I help people out all the time! If you want to come with me, I'm sure we can find a lot of people for you to help, and you can explore the world!" Jack offered.

Rapunzel considered the white-haired boy who'd changed the way she thought about the entire world in a few sentences. She couldn't help but wonder what being around him for longer would be like. Here was her chance to see the world and show Mother Gothel she could take care of herself.

Jack smiled at her and he said, "Well, Rapunzel?" This way the first time he'd said her name, and she loved the way it sounded, coming from him. The flutter she'd felt earlier increased and became a buzz throughout her entire body. She wanted to go with him, more than anything she'd wanted her entire life.

He held out his hand, and she took the hand of the boy who would change her world. They walked over to the window and climbed onto the windowsill.

"Ready to travel like the birds do? Come on, let's fly!" Jack whooped as he gripped his staff in one hand and wrapped the other arm around Rapunzel's waist. Her arms circled his neck as they shot off into the night, a trail of snow following in their wake.


End file.
